Jeanne Becker did a Q& A with Dara-Lynn Weiss published in today's Toronto Star. Weiss made waves with a Vogue article about how she put her 8-year old obese daughter on a strict diet to lose the weight. It created a lot buzz, and she found herself the object of some pretty nasty criticism.
It struck close to home for me. When I was young (probably about the same age), I was among the chubby kids; and was made fun of because of my weight. I totally understand wanting to save your kid from that; kids can be unbelievably cruel to each other.
But also when I was a kid I managed to spend a lot of my summers outside playing with friends; playing organized sports. Not all of my time was scheduled. Parents now seem to want to almost "bubble wrap" their kids keeping them inside; scheduling every second of their day. This is probably born of the feeling they have to protect them from the tough crowd.
The thing about 7/ 8-year olds is they take everything literally. So, being told they're fat or obese, sticks with them. And having that opinion enforced by their own mother by putting them on a diet is mean. Mothers are the one person in your life who doesn't judge you. Putting them on a diet could be almost like saying- I'll love you more when you're skinny.
There was probably some medical evidence behind her actions. But there are other ways to explore. Try exercising; walk to the park, get her into a sport or dance lessons find a fitness class for kids. Start cooking the family healthier meals; use the "obesity" diagnosis to make the entire family change its lifestyle.
Most of all though wait for her to grow. It's possible she gets taller, like I did.
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